Denominational Profile

History

split into Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ World Wide, Inc. (1957)

The Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ World Wide is a predominantly black Oneness Pentecostal church founded in 1957 by Smallwood E. Williams and former members of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith.

Membership Data

Year

Clergy

Churches

Members

1957

65

65

15,000

1958

120

115

15,000

1959

-

130

25,000

1960

135

125

25,000

1961

160

140

35,000

1965

165

155

45,000

1967

353

343

25,000

1968

1,000

347

25,010

1969

1,008

347

26,010

1970

350

350

30,000

Data were taken from the National Council of Churches' Historic Archive CD and recent editions of the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. The National Council of Churches' data collection was discontinued after the 2012 Yearbook was published, and has been resumed by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB). The tables and graphs will be updated when the new collection is available. See the Yearbook of Churches. Denomination descriptions provided by Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Director, Institute for the Study of American Religion (ISAR). [More information on data sources]